Engineer · Carlsbad/San Diego · Member since 2014 · 285 posts · 97 votes
I see that Ohio is one of the very few places that still seems reasonable from cashflow point of view compared to crazy prices seen in rest of the country. What do the expert investors here think about Ohio? Any pros/cons of investing there?
I am particularly looking at Cincinnati, Toledo, Cleveland, Dayton, Columbus.
When investing in a cash flow market the most important thing to know is the exact type of neighborhood you are investing in. Some areas do get very high rents in comparison to their low purchase price but there are drawbacks. I have seen everything you can imagine. Thieves breaking into properties and stealing everything metal pipes, H20 tanks, furnaces etc.
Certain neighborhoods are more susceptible than others to these types of occurrences. I only have experience in the Cleveland market but all mentioned markets will have similar issues.
Take a look at the Neighborhood grading map for the Cleveland market for more information on Cleveland neighborhoods.
I agree with you in some respects as far as crime and stealing of things in certain areas... Cincinnati is kind of a strange area, as most pockets of nice areas are sorrounded by not so nice areas especially in the city!
I have lived in Cincinnati since the beginning of 2013 and I would have to agree with @Brett Read. You can have a street with $400k+ homes and then have section 8 a block away with a luxury apartment complex on the same street. You can definitely get amazing cash-flowing properties in Cincinnati if you know the area VERY well.
Columbus is a great Cash-Flow market. But I agree with the poster above, it is hughly important to know which area you are investing in....that said, you can find a happy medium and pockets of good return in C-D areas!
Talk to a local property manager and have them steer you in the right direction!
Hi Hersh-
We see strong activity in the Northern Ohio
and Greater Cleveland area from investors
around the country, particularly to hold as rental properties. We have an exceptionally strong health care market that is stabilizing employment.
I am a General Home Inspector and would
be pleased to assist you with any information/service you may need to get started in Northern Ohio.
I grew up in Centerville. My dad worked for NCR. I was saddened that not only did they leave Dayton but the pool at Old River got filled in. Many summer days spent there!
You know the market has come back and gone too high when people are trying to invest in cleveland.
Do you know anything about the Cleveland market or are you just bashing the midwest for the sake of seeking attention? I would suggest you actually look at a Cleveland market forecast by companies that do that kind of thing for a living and you'll see that there is quite a bit of upside to the Cleveland marketplace. There is a reason those of us doing business here are thriving and why investors from out of state are loving it here too.
Since neighborhood is the key do you have any suggestion where to look....a maping was posted by another member but it was limited yet useful.
You really need to partner with someone local to have a set of eyes and ears in the market. There are great pockets of neighborhoods that are experiencing great revitalization in Cleveland next to areas that you would want to avoid. Not knowing and understanding the area and the pockets, you could end up buying a really great deal in a really bad area and never be able to do anything with it.
I get lists from out of state investors that "come into town" and buy entire tapes of properties for $1-2M because they are cheap hoping they will wholesale them or flip them to investors for a nice profit. I never buy any of them because the minute the neighborhood realized you had the house empty anything not nailed down would be gone, the copper wire would be gone, and the copper pipe would be stripped. There are good and bad areas in all towns. But not knowing where you are buying could be devastating.
That being said, my personal opinion would be to avoid condos in the Cleveland area unless you were planning to buy entire buildings of condos to resell. There are certain areas where you would be able to buy apartment buildings now, rehab them and sell them at top dollar for condos. It just depends on what your looking to do longer term. SFR deals are very good here and I would suggest that over single condo purchases. If you're not wanting to buy entire condo complexes or SFR, then I would go multi-family over single condos.
Low purchase price and relatively good rental prices= good cash flow!
Just make sure you know where you're buying. One block can be great, the next can be terrible.
I just recently helped a California investor who bought a duplex for 40k sell because the area was bad, had vandalism, etc. Seemed like a deal to him with 1400/month gross rents! But the maintenance and repair costs in the particular neighborhood coupled with terrible property management had him running away from it!
Low purchase price and relatively good rental prices= good cash flow!
Just make sure you know where you're buying. One block can be great, the next can be terrible.
I just recently helped a California investor who bought a duplex for 40k sell because the area was bad, had vandalism, etc. Seemed like a deal to him with 1400/month gross rents! But the maintenance and repair costs in the particular neighborhood coupled with terrible property management had him running away from it!
Have a guy that's boots on ground.
I'm a Californian who's thinking about out of state investing in the long run, but I won't do anything outside the local markets until I have the opportunity to connect with people on BP and get out of the area to see the types of properties myself! (Being a teacher helps due to time off)
I'm not a fan of the Ohio cities at all, and they certainly aren't the only ones cash-flowing around the country. There are quite a few out there, and a lot that are in way stronger growth markets than Ohio!
Thanks everyone! From what most people said, it looks like Ohio is very different in the sense that bad and good neighborhoods are pretty close to each other. I have so far never heard such a thing about other places discussed here on the site. This thread has been very informative. Thanks for the heads up.
@Hersh M.@Ali Boone Columbus is ranked 8th nationally for economic growth. Where are you investing Ali that is way stronger? I have never been to Ohio but I don't think the entire state or any city can be painted with a broad investment brush. I know @James Wise and others have a very respectible track record of coordinating cash flow investments in OH. Opinions are not facts fortunately for investors. Your team going in is as important as your location in OH. Good luck!
@Matt R.@Hersh M. I flew into Columbus, OH few hours ago and spending about a week here to see what's it all about. I've been studying the area for months now and I have been getting mixed reviews. Another reason for taking the initiative and flying out here.
I purposely chose to stay at a couples home here in Columbus through Air BNB, to ask them their thoughts of the area and find out more info. Got a lot of good 411 from them, especially knowing they have no interest whether I invest here in Columbus or not.
Currently in contract on a few right now, so if anyones interested, feel free to message me and I can give you my thoughts after my time here and how my deals have been / are going.
@Christopher Suh Cool, I imagine there are a lot of hit or miss hoods. It is definitely not like OC investing from what my brothers tell me. We went to Penn State so football games is their only exposure. And anything with grad students or employees at OSU must be pretty sweet I am thinking. But like any place, it will probably take a few months or so to unearth the great deals. Good luck!
Thanks everyone! From what most people said, it looks like Ohio is very different in the sense that bad and good neighborhoods are pretty close to each other
As for the Cleveland market this is really more of a city thing. Most of the suburbs are not like that at all. You can blindly throw a dart at a map of many major suburbs and land it in a good neighborhood every time.
I'm not a fan of the Ohio cities at all, and they certainly aren't the only ones cash-flowing around the country. There are quite a few out there, and a lot that are in way stronger growth markets than Ohio!
Hey Ali, I'd love to hear which markets you prefer over Ohio?!